Confusion has surrounded the exact scale of a new investment deal at Liverpool after Fenway Sports Group (FSG) confirmed it had sold roughly 38% of the Premier League club to 1892 Holdings, a consortium backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The announcement, made official on Friday, followed days of speculation about the size of the transaction. Earlier reports had suggested the Bezos-linked group was acquiring somewhere between 30% and a third of Liverpool, a figure the club described to the BBC as "directionally accurate" at the time. When the final number was revealed as closer to 40%, some supporters and observers felt the club had initially understated the true scope of the deal.
FSG does not normally disclose specific ownership percentages, but the Boston-based group chose to offer more clarity than usual given the volume of media speculation ahead of Friday's confirmation. The organisation has stated that it never intended to mislead anyone and that the additional guidance was simply a response to reports circulating about the extent of Bezos' involvement.
Despite that explanation, the sequence of events has prompted unease among some at Liverpool, with questions being raised internally about why FSG did not communicate the figures more clearly from the outset.
Adding further intrigue to the arrangement is a clause that could allow 1892 Holdings to become majority owners of Liverpool within the next year. Crucially, this is described as an option rather than a binding commitment, leaving open significant questions about FSG's long-term intentions for the club.
Jay McKenna, chair of the Spirit of Shankly supporters' union, addressed the uncertainty in comments reported by the Liverpool Echo. "One of the questions we will be asking is that we have been led to understand this change of ownership is guaranteed. We want to understand that and want to put it to FSG and the new owners," he said. "If we were told that the investors don't have the right to [complete a full takeover] or if it's just an option, and then next summer the club gets sold, then we will want to know why we weren't told."
The deal marks a dramatic shift in Liverpool's financial trajectory since FSG purchased the club for £300million in 2010, a period club CEO Billy Hogan has described as a time when Liverpool were "literally on the brink of bankruptcy." Sixteen years on, the latest transaction is understood to value the club at between £5billion and £6billion — more than 15 times its worth at the point of FSG's original takeover.
Football finance analyst Kieran Maguire called the arrangement highly favourable for FSG. "It's a great deal for FSG," he told BBC Sport. "They generate more than £1bn from the deal and still keep control — this represents the best of both worlds."
While officially labelled a minority investment, the scale and implications of the deal suggest something more significant is unfolding behind the scenes at Anfield. According to sources close to the negotiations, the primary motivation was not purely financial — the partnership is intended to strengthen Liverpool's global commercial reach, particularly across technology, investment and emerging markets in Asia and India.
FSG expects the benefits of the new partnership to become apparent in the coming months. However, that same period is likely to be dominated by speculation over who will ultimately be steering the club beyond next summer, as the possibility of a full takeover looms over Liverpool's boardroom.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.